CNBC aired a brutal segment on President Donald Trump tanking the travel industry, dunking on his latest “self-inflicted” mess.
International travel to the U.S. has fallen off a cliff, due to Trump’s trade policies and hostile rhetoric toward basically every other country in the world. Analysts at Goldman Sachs warned earlier this month that foreigners avoiding the U.S. could cost the U.S. economy $90 billion in lost tourism and export revenue this year.
Reacting to the news at the top of Squawk Box Tuesday, host Joe Kernen said that visits from Canada and Western Europe are down year over year, “putting billions of dollars in spending at stake.”
Their math suggested that for every one percent drop in foreign visitors spending, $1.8 billion in export revenue is lost annually.
Kernen added that this is “self-inflicted,” with Geoff Freeman, U.S. Travel Association president and CEO, reluctantly agreeing.
He added that the Trump administration needs to “send a message” that travelers are “wanted” in the U.S.
“We understand, obviously, what needs to be done on the trade front. We understand what needs to be done to seal the border. How do we combine that with the message that we want you to come to the United States, because we certainly can’t afford to drive these visitors away,” he explained.
Freeman hopefully noted that “it’s not too late,” saying: “Yeah, there’s a degree of self-inflicted. I guess the point would be it’s not too late here. As we look forward, we’ve got the World Cup, we’ve got America 250 next year, we’ve got the Olympics coming up in L.A.”
Freeman has however chided the Trump administration for its lack of preparedness for these large-scale events.
Data from U.S. Customs and Border Protection shows that Canadians crossing the border was down 12.5 percent in February year over year, and off 18 percent for March.
Canadian drive traffic was down nearly 30 percent in March. Overall, Canadian travel to the U.S. was down around 15 percent.
U.S. Travel Association figures showed an even bleaker picture. Freeman said on Squawk Box that Canadian land journeys in March were down 26 percent year on year, while flights were down 14 percent.
Western European visitors slumped for the first time since 2021, with visitors down 17 percent, according to Freeman’s figures. South America was down 10 percent.
He said these international visitors spend $200 billion, “bigger than all of our agricultural exports combined.”
“I think the question is what’s the plan going forward? We need these travelers here… It’s free money. So discouraging these travelers, letting this deficit grow is only to your point, digging a deeper hole,” Freeman said.
He also noted that, today, the U.S. has a $50 billion travel trade deficit—meaning that American travelers are spending more abroad than foreign visitors spend in the U.S.
“And right now, the hole that we’re digging is a little bit deeper,” he admitted.
The National Travel and Tourism Office, a division of the U.S. Commerce Department, states that old tourism cornerstones like the United Kingdom and Germany have chosen to avoid the U.S. by as much as 29 percent in March.
In total, Western European visitors saw a 12 percent drop off in March.
On Squawk Box, Freeman added that traveler numbers from Asia are down 30 percent, overall, and adjusted to three percent in March.
“We’ve got real issues when it comes to attracting these visitors,” Freeman said.
He said the U.S. needs a “plan,” ahead of international events like the soccer World Cup in 2026.
“[That’s] an opportunity to bring 8 million travelers to the United States. What’s the plan to really unlock that opportunity rather than be in this situation we’re in, where they’re just choosing to go spend their money elsewhere?” he said.
Many foreign visitors are avoiding the U.S. over concerns about increased hostility at the border, including reports about European tourists being detained for weeks in U.S. immigration centers. Others are angry about Trump’s trade wars and his treatment of U.S. allies—particularly Canada—and are boycotting U.S. travel and products.
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